Could you be Regulated Out of The Market?

Could you be Regulated Out of The Market?

Posted: Oct 4, 2017

By Brian K. Hicks

With autonomous vehicles gaining traction and Smart Cities becoming a reality, the automotive industry is rapidly changing. Yet amid all the industry excitement and consumer fascination, questions remain. The most important may revolve around how the states and the Federal government will handle implementation of these technologies as they become more universal.

This change will undoubtedly impact OEMs, automotive suppliers, technology leaders, intelligent startups and even insurance companies. New regulation, or the lack thereof, is bound to be the primary concern of government and industry leaders alike.

In early September, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SELF DRIVE Act (H.R. 3388), and the bill is now in the Senate. The Transportation and Public Safety Committee in the Ohio House has started to hold hearings on the subject of autonomous and connected vehicles. Over the coming months the Ohio House Transportation and Public Safety Committee will hear from different industry groups and other concerned parties.

The first hearing in early October, set the tone for the meetings to come providing an overview of where the industry currently stands and where experts believe it is heading. Additionally, framework for why and how different levels of autonomy are defined was outlined with an emphasis on how progressively greater levels of automation may alter the automotive and societal landscape. Many topical minutiae were not addressed, so pertinent questions remain. Will the government or the market pick the winners? And who may be regulated out of the market?

If you have concerns about how autonomous, semi-autonomous and the next generation of smart vehicles will be regulated, or if you would like to be updated on the status of these and future hearings, contact us.

Brian Hicks is President & CEO of Hicks Partners, LLC. Hicks Partners has been at the heart of shaping public policy in both Ohio and D.C. for years, and our knowledge of government allows us to help companies achieve maximum results.